


Life I Never Thought I'd Lead

by orphan_account



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King, Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/F, M/M, MENTION ON PANIC ATTACKS, Multi, N STUFF LIKE THAT, Polyamory, Yaoi, i hope this has a happy ending, millie is a jealous bitch for some of it, no sexy stuffs(dont worry you can find it elsewhere), possibly some IT kids, stranger things kids, these kids are all like 14-17 years old, these kids can be a mess at times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 07:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15310098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Clementine loves Stranger Things. She /loves/ it. She's a big fangirl with lots of mental health issues she doesn't take care of, and she discovers that there's auditions for S3 of ST at her local Hot Topic (idk). What happens when she actually gets the part?





	1. Surprise..?

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! I can't promise frequent updates, but I can promise great ones!

"Alright, Clem, c'mon, It's time to go now!" My mother's voice floated up the staircase. 

"Okay! I'm coming, Jesus!" I yelled back down to her, grabbing my phone and putting on my shoes. I don't know why she was freaking out, or why she was in such a hurry. Though, that's probably because she wouldn't tell me where she was taking me. I had no way of knowing whether it was really important, or if she was excited over literally nothing. Which she usually is.

"Oh, you're going to be so excited!" She squealed, making eye contact as I come down the stairs.

"So, when are you telling what's happening?" I ask her as I reach the last step and put my phone in my pocket and pull my black and red checkered jacket over my shoulders. Suddenly, there's something over my eyes, and someones hands planted on mine.

"I can't tell you where we're going yet, but I can tell you that you're going to be really happy I went through all of this for you." My mom laughs and pulls me by my hands to what I assume is the door. She's done this once before, though I'm praying that it's actually for something good this time.

"Please don't tell me we're going to see Aunt Pamela again," I groaned, her pushing me into the passenger seat. She scoffs.

"Of course not! It's even better than that!" Seriously? I was genuinely surprised. She thought something was better than going to visit Aunt Pam? The rest of the drive was silent. We drove for what felt like an eternity of me picking threads off the hem of my Three Days Grace shirt, but was really only 10 minutes of me trying to tug one very long thread off my Three Days Grace shirt, and not succeeding. 

I felt the car tug to a stop, and sighed, allowing my mother to drag me around what I could tell was the mall by it's smell. After a bit, she stopped and placed her hands on my shoulders.

"Okay, Clem, remember when you said they're looking for someone to play a new character in Stranger Things?" She spoke, I could her the grin in her voice. 

"Yeah..?" I wasn't catching on, even though I should've been. My mom pulled off my blindfold and stepped to the side, allowing me to see what she had kept me in the dark about for 8 whole days. 

"Mom, you're not serious."

"Yes, I am."

"Did you drug me?" I deadpanned. She shot a glare in my direction, and shook her head.

"No, I most certainly did not. Now let's go stand in line." She grabbed my arm and pulled me off in the direction of the store in front of us, Hot Topic, and into the line for a small stage holding Finn Wolfhard and Sadie Sink. 

"Thank you so much, mom." I turned to her with a small smile. I was never one to show a long o strong emotion, and had a sarcastic sense of humor. But for this, I was definitely grateful, and was going to show it. 

"You're welcome, honey. We might have to wait a while though, looks like the line's long." I nodded.

"It's fine. Thank you, again,"

 

1 HOUR TIME SKIP

The girl before me had just finished talking to Sadie and Finn, and was now heading back into a room with Ross and Matt Duffer to do her audition. After standing there for about 45 minutes, my mom and I realized that Finn and Sadie were just there to talk to right before the actual audition. They were sitting in chairs and talking to the few up at the front while they waited. Which I was glad for. I was nervous as it is and didn't think I could handle having them in there during my audition. Before I knew it, the girl had sashayed out of the metal door, and it was my turn. 

My brain was apparently just now registering this, and I began to hyperventilate. Typical. Thanks, inner me. My mom grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me to look at her. 

"Honey? Look, it's alright. You're gonna be fine, okay? Just breathe." She spoke softly, guiding me to the door. Sadie and Finn were no longer in their chairs. 

"Mom, where did they go?" I questioned, trying to get a grip on myself. 

"They went inside honey, they're going to watch." 

"What? But what about everyone else!" I turned around to look, seeing I was the last one. I turned back around to face my mother, eyes watering. 

"Mom, I don't think I can do this. I'm gonna mess it up, or.. or something." She gave me a small smile and rubbed my shoulder with one hand, wiping my few tears with the other. 

"You're going to do fine, hun." She glanced behind me as the door creaked open. 

"Oh, hey. They told us there was one person left. Are you okay?" The person spoke, and I took a breath and turned around to face Matt Duffer. 

"Oh, uh, yeah, I think.. I think I'll be fine in a moment." I let out a small laugh as I wiped the tears my mom missed. Matt's eyebrows furrow, and he holds up his finger as if to say, 'wait a second.' He turns around and goes back into the room, and we only have to wait 20 seconds or so before he's back again and I've regained myself. 

"Hey, you look like you've got a bit of the jitters. Tell you what: you've got just the right look and accent we were going for in the show. Where are you from?" I smiled a bit and sniffed before answering. 

"I moved here from Sydney, Australia when I was younger." I told him.

"Oh. Well, we're going to be here for another few days, so why don't you give us a phone number or something, and you can audition in a few days? You look like you could use a bit of time to get ready, and we were running out of time today anyway." He sends a grin my way, and my mother steps up to put her number in his phone. 

"Alright, girly, see you in a few days!" He holds his hand up to wave as we leave, and I wave back.

Today was delightful.


	2. A New Beginning

2 days later, I was back in that same auditioning room, and I was terrified. I was meant to be reading the script with Finn, as the scene included my character and Mike Wheeler. The Duffer Brothers and Sadie sat behind a long grey desk, and Finn stood propped in front of it as we read our lines. 

"Mike, if you go looking for him you might get taken too!" I exaggerated a bit for Sophia, my character. 

"I know, but we have to find Will. We have to! He's only been back for 2 years, he deserves to stay!" Finn cried out, still leaning on the desk behind him, but throwing his hands around for emphasis. 

"Of course he does, but I mean, what about El? Me, Dustin and Lucas?" 

"Joyce and Jonathan might want to look for him too. I won't be alone."

"I know, but Mike, I don't want to lose you." I let me eyes sprout a few tears, though I did not let them fall. 

"I know, what happened was horrible, but I think it's time we need to accept the fact that whatever has taken Will is willing to do everything in it's power to keep him. Don't you?" 

"Now we have to be willing to sacrifice whatever we can to get him back," He spoke coldly, eyes narrowed in a glare my way. 

"You don't want to lose El again, or have her lose you?" I asked. 

"Well, no, but I want to find Will!" He spat at me, taking a step forward. 

"Mike, I don't think you can this time." I tried to show a hurt expression. 

"CUT!" 

I turned away from Finn to face Matt and Ross. 

"That was really good! Though we might be switching up the love interests before we do everything, and not to mention that the script you guys just used isn't actually usable. But yeah, congrats, Clementine, you got the part!" Matt spoke out. I gaped at him. 

"You're serious?"

"Yep!" 

"My mum seriously didn't drug me this time?" I asked again. Matt and Ross laughed. Sadie and Finn looked concerned. 

"Nope, you definitely got the part. So, we'll text you or call and give you the details later on. For now, we'll add you to the cast groupchat." Ross smiled. 

"O..Oh, okay." I gave a nervous laugh, and gasped at the sudden arms wrapped around me. I looked down to Sadie's red hair. I was confused, but hugged back. 

As soon as she let go, I was pulled into a hug with Finn. Though I'd like to say I didn't mind, I really did. I don't like physical confrontation. I pulled away as quick as possible without it seeming awkward, which was a big fail, it was still awkward. 

"Alright, well, I'd better get going, my mum's waiting for me outside." I let out another nervous chuckle, and went for the door. The Duffer brothers waved. 

 

finn

As soon as she was out the door, the Duffer brothers rushed me, Sadie trailed behind. 

"Finn, do you like her?" Matt asked, I was taken aback for a moment. 

"Yeah, cause if you do, she'll definitely be Mike's love interest!" Ross cut in. I hesitated to share y feelings about the girl, out of fear that then everyone would find out.

"Uh,.. yeah, I mean she's really pretty but," Sadie cut me off. 

"Oh my gosh! I was thinking the same thing! I want to hang out with her, c'mon!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door and out to the carpark to find Clementine. She only let go of my hand when we got to their car. 

"Hey Clem!" She called out, a few feet away from her. She turned around at the calling of her name, and signaled for her mom to wait a moment in the car. 

"Hey guys. Did you need something?" She asked cautiously as she walked back up to the sidewalk where we were, looking nervous. Sadie smiled.

"Yeah, we were about to have a sleepover with the rest of the cast, wanna join?" She invited enthusiastically. Clementine tilted her head, her silky black hair falling from her shoulder as she did so. She then nodded and walked back to her car, leaning down to the window to talk to her mom. After the short conversation, she walked back up to the sidewalk and her mom pulled the car away and drove off. Clem grinned. 

"So, where to?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know I've made Finn say MOM and Clem say MUM. Clem is from Australia and Finn is not. :)
> 
> I encourage constructive criticism and feedback!


	3. You're Not Who I Thought You'd Be!

We arrived at Finn's hotel room in 45 minutes. None of us had a car, so I probably should've had my mum drive us. Of course I didn't, though, so we walked. 

"Are we there yet?" Sadie complained for the 20th time, dragging out the 'yet.' I shrugged. 

"Well, for the first time today, I can answer with a yes." Finn answered in a satisfactory tone, guiding us to the hotel doors, through the lobby, and into the elevator, pushing the button for the 2nd floor. When the elevator stopped, we turned an immediate corner only to face a small group sitting in the middle of the hallway. Millie and Caleb were against the right wall, the the former with her head resting on the latters shoulder. Gaten was resting against the left wall along with Noah's legs. The rest of him was laying on the thin-carpeted floor. We stopped, Sadie almost tripping over Noah's torso.

"Oh, hey guys." Finn spoke. Caleb and Gaten waved while Noah scrambled to sit up. 

"Hey, dude, where ya been?" He welcomed, cracking a smile as Finn pulled him up by the arms. 

"Oh, we─"

"Yeah, guys, where have you been? 'Cause we've been sitting out here for maybe an hour bored and dehydrated. Please don't tell me you didn't go out of your way to do or get something stupid again." Millie spoke as she stood, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms when she stood up straight. Sadie put her arm around me and smiled while Finn reached into his bag to get his keys. 

"We walked all the way here with this munchkin, actually!"" She announced. I scoffed and gave her a soft smile.

"I'm not small enough to be given friend pet names." I mumbled.

"Or cute enough, really." Sadie gasped and removed her arm, unexpectedly flinging me over to stand beside Noah, whom I was slightly shorter than, and then pulling me back to replace her shoulder. 

"You're shorter than Noah, and he's really short!" She exclaimed. 

"And I caught that whisper!" Her hands were suddenly on my face, squishing my cheeks together. 

"You're adorable. Hush." She whispered to me so no one else could hear, grinning. She let me go and held my hand while we walked inside after everyone else. They were already sat in a semi circle with room made for both of us to sit. Sadie sat to my left, and Noah sat to my right with his legs crossed. 

"Let's play truth or dare!" Caleb yelled, sitting across from me in the, now completed, circle. Sadie laughed out loud and clapped her hands together, clearly excited. 

"I'll go first!" Finn announced from his place beside Noah. He turned to Gaten, beside Sadie. He was munching on some chips he seemed to have found in the kitchen on the way in. 

"Gaten, I dare you to call Dacre and ask for his blessing as Sadie's brother, to be with her." Gaten almost choked on his chips as he inhaled quickly to laugh. He nodded, pulling out his phone and dialing a number. While he and the other were laughing away at the conversation, I leaned toward Sadie, who seemed to become my new best friend in the 12 hours I'd known her.

"He.. Hey, Sades?" I began with uncertainty, not sure if she'd want to leave the fun to speak with me. I hadn't noticed until now, but the air in the room had become stuffy, at least to me. It was starting to get harder to breathe, the longer I sat on the carpet. Sadie turned to me, allowing her smile to drop for only a moment. She noticed I was having a hard time without asking, and pulled me up by me hands and into the hallway. 

"Hey, Clem, are you alright?" I nodded my head, breathing a bit more heavily, and then shrugged. She smiled and sat me down on the ground, letting me rest my back against the wall.

"Alright, breathe, okay?" She instructed, glancing towards the living room entryway and giving a slight nod. 

"What's wrong?" She asked. I didn't really know. It was a lot of things. Many things, all at once. Maybe the fact that there was a lot of new people to be around, and a lot of personalities to take in. Could be the fact that I'm in a new place, and there's new surroundings and new faces I'm not used to being around. Maybe it was everything. 

"Uh.. uhm, I don't really know, new people maybe?" I told her, my breathing starting to calm down. Noah came around the corner with a glass of water and handed it to me. I grasped it with shaky hands and just held it for a moment. 

"I just need a second, I think. It was really overwhelming." I concluded, deciding that was the problem. Sadie nodded, and Noah offered a small smile. 

"When we go back, we can introduce you all." He said. I nodded, finally taking a gulp of the water. After a few minutes, Sadie took the empty glass to the kitchen, and Noah helped me stand on shaky legs. We walked back into the living room as a small group, all three of us sitting down the way we were, as if nothing had happened and we had been there the whole time. 

"Hey guys?" Sadie started, making everyone stop conversation.

"I think that now, since we have a new member to the group and cast, we should introduce ourselves. Especially with pronouns and stuff, cause I feel like that needs to be established." She beamed, flipping her hair over her left shoulder.

"I'l start, too! Even though you already kind of know!" She turned to face me. "I'm Sadie, though you and others obviously call me Sades sometimes. I'm 16, bisexual, and my pronouns are she/her. There, that's all that really needs to be said." She let her gaze drift over her friends in the circle. She launched her hand forward and pointed to Gaten. 

"Now, you!"

"I'm Gaten, 16, and I have cleidocranial dysplasia. That means my teeth are weird, basically." He took a break to laugh at himself, which made me crack a small smile. But only for a moment. 

"I'm pansexual and my pronouns are he/they." He ended quickly, as if he didn't want to speak anymore about about it. Before I could think on it, Caleb started speaking. 

"I'm Caleb. I'm 17, straight and he/him." He smiled and gave a small wave before turning to his left, my right. 

"Millie. 14, straight, she/her." She didn't seem to look up from her phone, which she was holding just below her chin, nor did she look like she wanted to. It didn't seem to phase anyone but Sadie, who leaned down and whispered to me before Finn began. 

"Just ignore her, she's in a sour mood right now, obviously." 

"I'm 16, which you already know, and bisexual. I've not thought about it much, but I guess my pronouns are he/him." Finn told me, raising his hand a bit, before his attention was directed towards Noah. Noah just stared at everyone for a moment, before realizing it was his turn. 

"Oh! Right, haha. I'm Noah, and I'm 14, the youngest of the group. Also asexual, biromantic, which is a bit complicated. If you need me to explain later on, I can do that! My pronouns are he/him." He smiled at me. I nodded, small smile on my face before Sadie nudged me with her elbow. 

"It's your turn now." 

"Um, yeah, so I'm Clementine. Basically everyone calls me Clem, but close friends and family call me CJ. It's cause of my middle name, which is Julius. Weird I know, but I guess that just what I can't change about myself. A.. and now I'm rambling. Sorry," I felt my face burn up. 

"I'm 16 and bisexual. I'm kind of, like, genderfluid/nonbinary? A mix of those, but I lean towards masculinity. Which is called demiboy, but I don't like that title much. My pronouns are anything you want to call me, really." I smiled at the kids sitting around me. 

"Sounds complicated."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm disappointed that this needs to be said: No, st kids have not said these things. Most of this stuff is for fanfic, and I am not putting words in their mouth. Don't take it seriously.
> 
> I encourage constructive criticism and feedback!


	4. Done With First Impressions: Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lowercase intended) This is just Sadie's point of view for a quick change because I think you need to see some of her and Finn's perspective throughout the book to properly enjoy it. For now, Sadie's and Finn's parts will be somewhat short, but they'll most likely get longer and more like the rest as the story goes on.

and i woke up to the sound of cj's laughter. beautiful. 

i sat up from the couch only to catch a glimpse of cj and finn sitting in front of me, controllers in both of their hands. they were playing mario kart. i was shit at it, but from what i can see through blurry morning vision, they're both pretty good. no, they're really good. clem was in first and finn was in second. almost to the finish line and...

clem slips on a banana peel. finn wins. clem gets third.

and when i sat up, noah was already beside me, whispering in my ear. he says that he talked with finn right before i woke, and asks how i feel about clementine. 

i tell him i think shes beautiful. no lie, if been thinking about it since she got here. even in the midst of a panic attack, a complete mess, she looked as stunning as she had the entire night. i also tell him shes nice. thats all i tell him. 

he asks if i like her. 

i tell him i dont know yet. 

"well, it seems finn's got his eyes on the same prize, so you'd better hurry up, we know you want her." he tells me all morning and evening. when it comes night time, we'd gotten news about how some of season 3 would go, eaten dinner together (it was mcdonalds), and all laid down on the living floor of the hotel room together. i was wedged between clem and finn. i didn't mind. 

and at this point, i've realized i've wasted my whole day away overthinking and tuning out. 

but i realized i like cj. 

just a little. 

and i was okay with dealing with finn to get to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, does she sound like she's out to get Finn? Or is she willing to shove her way into something else?
> 
> I encourage constructive criticism and feedback!


	5. Done With First Impressions: Part Two

I woke at 5am, unusually ready for the day. Clementine was already up, mind you, and she was playing on my N64. Normally I'd think it rude for someone to mess with my stuff, but when Clem did it, it was alright. I laid down for another 10 minutes, before deciding I couldn't fall asleep, and getting up to join her. We played Mario Kart for the next 5 hours. 

At 11, everyone else was awake, and Caleb was making breakfast. If you ever thought Caleb looked like someone who was a good cook, you were right. 

Around 1, Noah asked me if I liked Clem. Of course I do, I told him. She's super nice, and has probably the same high level anxiety that I do. It's relatable. But Noah wouldn't take that answer. So I told him, Sure, I like her, she's really pretty, but she wouldn't like me. I thought it was a lie to get him out of my face, but the later it got and the more I looked at her, I realized it wasn't a lie. She was very pretty. Gorgeous, in fact. 

By the time it was 7, we were eating McDonalds. Sadie had spent most of her time around CJ, which meant I hadn't. At this point I decided hanging around them both wasn't that bad, so I sat between them while we ate. Considering how much we all talk, it was about 9 when we finished. 

Close to 11 at night we decided it was time for bed. I let Gaten and Caleb fight for the bed, which Millie ended up sleeping in, and the rest of us decided we wanted to have a sleepover on the living room floor. I was sandwiched between Clem and Sadie, who, after a while, I thought was actually pretty cool to hang out with. Her and Clem's personalities clash together very well, and after we had finished eating, Noah had come to tell me that my personality 'bounces straight off theirs' which is apparently a really good thing. 

Midnight, I finally fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I encourage constructive criticism and feedback!


	6. Welcome To The Family!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY! This is in an Instagram format! I just think that should pee-zazz up the story a bit. Don't worry, most of them will be normal chapters! (I'm too lazy to add any photos)

clemenlime: hi im here welcome to my world also im an actor in stranger things there you go friends :)

                  **4,602 comments ~ liked by sadiesink, finnwolfhardofficial and 20,341 others**

user1: ahh yes!! i've been waiting for you to get an acting role!

sadiesink: welcome!! we are so lucky to have your gorgeous face on set!!

finnwolfhardofficial: well i haven't been waiting ages but it feels like i have. i'm ready for mike's official love interest

user2: really? can't believe you got the part.

user3: wow youre so pretty we're blessed

noahschnapp: welcome to the family!! I'm so EXCITED!

user 4: wait.. 'official love interest'?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 95 words I hope you enjoyed :) it's really just a filler (I'm too lazy to add any photos)
> 
> I encourage constructive criticism and feedback!

**Author's Note:**

> I appreciate constructive criticism and feedback! (In fact, I encourage it!) 
> 
> What do you guys want to see from this story?


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